Tuesday, May 26, 2009

This sounds all to familiar - I have been down this road and my radar went off immediatelywhen I heard this story. Soon it is my goal to make these hospitals report to the public so people can make informed decesions as to where they want treatment or care based on the report card.

Woman Gives Birth, Later Dies From Bacterial MeningitisTuesday, May 26, 2009 12:30 PMUpdated: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 5:21 PMPrint StoryE-mail StoryBELLFONTAINE, Ohio — Hospital administrators said Tuesday that they were conducting an investigation after two women contracted bacterial meningitis within 24 hours of giving birth.The women arrived at Mary Rutan Hospital Thursday evening and both delivered healthy babies. By the next morning, the women started to become ill, 10TV's Tanisha Mallett reported."Sometime around mid-morning there were complications," said Mandy Goble, president and chief executive officer of Mary Rutan Hospital. "Headaches and a little bit of nausea developed, which is very common with spinal anesthesia."Later in the day, the women were moved to Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. Shortly before midnight, one of the women, Susan Simpson, 30, died.Goble said her hospital immediately launched an investigation to determine what caused the infection."They came in about an hour apart; they were in separate rooms (and) as far as we know they did not know each other previous to the delivery," Goble said. "The only commonality that we have been able to determine is they each shared a spinal anesthesia."The other woman, whose name was not released, remained at the hospital on Tuesday. Her family and friends told 10TV News that she was in the hospital's intensive care unit, Mallett reported.The women's babies were in good condition at Nationwide Children's Hospital.The Ohio Department of Health told 10TV News that the Logan County Health Department was also involved in the investigation.Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for additional information.

Gram-Negative Rods in Neonatal ICUs05/15/2009Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found a high frequency of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative rods (GNRs) in two of the largest neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the city of Manila, Philippines. Improved infection control methods could reduce the vast number of hospital-acquired neonatal infections. The BUSM study appears online in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.According to researchers, hospital-acquired infections have emerged as a significant health problem in developing areas. Neonatal mortality accounts for more than one third of all global child deaths each year. Sepsis is a leading cause of death within the first month of life and is often acquired through unhygienic care practices in healthcare facilities, which frequently have limited emphasis placed on standard infection control measures.Over a 10-month period, BUSM researchers conducted studies for colonization and bloodstream infections with gentamicin or third generation cephalosporin-resistant GNR among all NICU infants weekly and then on the day of discharge. Researchers found a total of 1,997 resistant GNRs colonizing 1,831 neonates. Results also showed that 376 newborns became bacteremic with a total of 437 GNRs.The most common GNR species identified were Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter. A high proportion of colonization and bacteremia at the two NICUs was with non-intestinal GNRs. Factors significantly associated with increased risk of bacteremia were mechanical ventilation and prematurity. Additionally, colonization with a resistant GNR was an independent risk factor for bacteremia."Colonization with a resistant GNR was an independent risk factor for sepsis," said senior author, Davidson Hamer, MD, associate professor of international health and medicine at Boston University School of Public Health, and director of Boston Medical Center's Travel Clinic. "The unusually high intensity of colonization pressure and disease with multidrug-resistant GNRs at these two NICUs constitutes an emerging health care crisis in the developing world."This study was funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Control of Resistant Bacteria in Outpatient Clinics05/11/2009While infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, are usually associated with inpatient settings, the potential for infection in outpatient clinics exists. A review in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) outlines infection control strategies for these settings to help minimize transmission of these potentially deadly pathogens."The recent emergence of community-associated MRSA, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus and C. difficile among patients with no known predisposing factors has increased the potential for offices and clinics to become silent reservoirs of these pathogens," write Dr. Anne Matlow and coauthor from the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto.Hygiene, education and cleaning of physical environments are important for infection control. Careful prescribing of antibiotics is also key. Healthcare workers are the main mode of transmission and should be the primary target of prevention strategies which include hand washing with alcohol-based hand rubs or soap and water – the most essential part of infection control. Additional precautions, such as gown and gloves, should be used in caring for patients with diarrhea, cystic fibrosis or draining wounds. A multi-pronged approach, including policies and guidelines for identifying and managing infected patients, access to personal protective equipment and hand sanitizers or soap and water is required to prevent transmission."Since most cases of transmission in ambulatory care are a result of deficient infection-control practices, strict adherence to recommendations is paramount," write the authors.var loc = window.location.pathname;var nt=String(Math.random()).substr(2,10);document.write ('');